Love Meant to Endure
by BonJeanne
Summary: Henry makes up for their 25th anniversary. Set sometime in Season 2 with very minimal spoilers.


Hey y'all! This is my first piece of fanfiction ever. I'd love reviews, but please be gentle! Thank you and hope you enjoy!

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Henry and Elizabeth McCord sat together on the couch after eating Chinese takeout and playing an intense round of Scrabble. Henry caught her eye and briefly captured her lips with his. She licked her lips and said, "You taste like spring rolls."

"And you taste like stir fry," he replied.

"Well, that's hot," she said sarcastically. They grinned at each other. Sometimes, love wasn't candlelight and champagne. More often than not, romance was playing Scrabble and sharing greasy Chinese food. He gazed at her with all the love in his heart.

"Babe, you're staring," Elizabeth said.

"I was just thinking... Since I totally messed up our anniversary, I want to make it up to you, even though it was six months ago," he said and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Especially with everything that's happened since, I want to show you how much every year has meant to me."

"How do you plan on doing that, Professor?" she asked with a flirtatious edge to her voice.

"I'm going to give you a kiss for every year that we've been married." He began with four quick pecks on her lips. "We were newlyweds, head-over-heels in love-"

"Not much has changed," Elizabeth interjected.

"-and I shipped off. The first four years were stressful to say the least, both worried that I would never come home. Looking back, it was the first of many trials that tested us and our love." He paused briefly, and then suddenly dove in for a wildly passionate french kiss. "I came home for good, and started my Ph.D. We made up for lost time." She giggled. That was one way to put it. "And we wanted to start a family which leads me to-" He gave her a soft, chaste kiss. "-our sixth year, the year that Stevie was born. Those were the nine most terrifying and exciting of my life."

"Mine too."

"I remember when you first went into labor and refused the epidural." She winced at the memory. "You squeezed my hand so tightly during the contractions I thought I was going to end up in the hospital too. At one point you even told me you would refuse to have any more kids." They shared a knowing smile. "When she was born, we both cried. Our beautiful baby girl. Stevie is so much like you: strong, stubbornly independent, and just. I swore that I would do everything in my power to protect the two of you." He kissed her fiercely twice. She was his, and he was hers. "So I kept working on my Ph.D., and you got promoted in the CIA. We shared parenting duties, but with your traveling you missed her first steps. I saw the regret in your eyes. Stevie was growing up too fast for the both of us."

"I remember our tenth anniversary," she smirk and gave him a playful kiss that he returned eagerly. "That's when Allison was conceived."

"You had terrible morning sickness-"

"It wasn't just in the morning," she said. "Remember that time I woke up in the middle of the night throwing up?"

"You were sitting on the bathroom floor, crying. I was so worried that you had miscarried or something else terrible had happened. Instead, you were crying because you were craving-"

"Noodles." They smiled.

"It only food you could hold down for the next two and a half months," he said.

"From the moment she was born with dark hair, we knew she took after you," Elizabeth whispered and stroked his cheek. "She's gentle, patient, and open-hearted, just like you, Henry."

"I think her sweet side comes from having such a good mom." She blushed at his compliment. He kissed her forehead twice. "Then I started working for the NSA. We both had demanding jobs, but somehow we always found our way back to each other and two children." He gave her a soft kiss. "You wanted to go for three, and so we got our little anarchist," he said fondly.

"Our sweet baby boy," she added. "We're lucky he hasn't started pushing us away yet. I'm not ready for him to grow up."

"Stevie came back to us. Besides, we have time," Henry said and brushed away a tear that slipped down her face. He kissed each cheek.

"We taught Stevie how to ride. We cried as Allison went to school for the first time. We soothed Jason as his teeth grew in. Things were going so well."

He pulled her closer in preparation for discussing their next year. The sixteenth year of their marriage marked an extremely low point for them, culminating in one of their worst fights. This kiss was slow and sweet, full of both forgiveness and love. "I still regret the things that I said. It wasn't fair. We don't fight that way. I was being selfish, and in doing so I almost lost what we have." She saw the tears gathering in his eyes.

"We're okay," she reassured him and squeezed his hand. "We made it, and we're better because of it."

They were lost in regret and gratitude for a moment when Henry broke the silence. "You're right, we made it. And we are better." He cleared his throat and resumed his speech. "The next eight years we truly settled down and lived simply. We were professors. We took care of the horses. We raised our family. Nothing was complicated." They met in an initially innocent kiss that quickly turned more passionate. His tongue ran along her bottom lip, and she willingly let him in. Their lips danced, and their tongues flirted. Henry pulled away from their brief make out session. Elizabeth gave a small groan in protest and stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. "If we keep this up, I'm not going to be able to finish." She gave him one more quick kiss then let him continue.

"Then Conrad showed up and changed everything. You went from 'Mrs. McCord' to 'Madam Secretary' in a single day. Since that day, we've been thrust into the public eye, a life neither of us have had any experience with before. We uprooted our family and moved into a busy city full of politics. Stevie dropped out of college and dated her boss."

She rolled her eyes. "Glad he's gone."

"And there was the whole thing with Harrison… Not to mention the time she thought that I was cheating"

"And that's just Stevie," she said. "Allison's been a champ, but she struggled to make friends at first. I was really worried that she'd never adjust. Jason got expelled."

"It's been crazy for the kids, and us. We've come too close to losing each other for comfort." Henry felt Elizabeth stiffen uncomfortably in his arms. Their fight about Dimitri was still fresh. She didn't want to remember Iran or the dirty bomb. It had been too close. Sensing that her mind was wandering to a dark place, Henry kissed her forcefully to get her attention back.

"Baby, we've been through the thick and thin, and somehow we're stronger than ever. I think this is a close to perfect life can ever get. I love you with all my heart." They sat quietly in each other's arms, memories of their twenty-five years of marriage flickering by.

"Will you still love me?" she asked in a hesitant voice. "When we're old I mean... When I'm not pretty anymore and when I can't remember what day of the week it is." He cupped her face with his hands and looked deep into her eyes with a smoldering passion.

"Baby, you're always going to be beautiful to me, don't you worry. And second, I'll love you even when you forget what year it is. Even when you forget who I am. And I'll make you fall in love with me again every single day." Henry always knew what to say, and he somehow always managed to sound like a poet when he did. She smiled up at him.

"I swear, you make it worth falling everyday. You're perfect. I love you," she murmured as he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I'll even love you when you need help going to the bathroom and you shit yourself. I'll still love you and think you're the most gorgeous human being on the planet," he said. Elizabeth giggled. Only Henry could lighten the mood with bathroom humor but somehow still remain incredibly romantic.

"Thanks."

"We are forever, baby. Our love is a love meant to endure."


End file.
